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Settlement Blocs Part of a Package Deal

(Jerusalem Post) Editorial - * The U.S. is saying to Israel and the Palestinians, it is up to you to negotiate on borders and refugees, but if anyone asks us, we will probably back Israel on not returning completely to the 1967 lines and on not settling Palestinians in Israel. * Sharon's disengagement plan has been a package deal: Israel unilaterally withdraws from some areas that it does not expect to retain in any final-status agreement, while consolidating control over other areas that it must retain under any conceivable peace accord. * The international community should understand that there is no free lunch, even when it comes to unilateral concessions. If Israel is to make a very real, wrenching, and painful down-payment on a final-status arrangement, it needs a parallel diplomatic down-payment now, setting lines it will not be pressed to cross when final-status talks come. * If Israel cannot show a tangible diplomatic reward for disengagement, then disengagement can only be perceived as a reward for four years of terrorist attacks. Is it in the American interest, let alone Israel's, to fuel such a perception, much less such a reality?
2005-03-28 00:00:00
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